


Chrysalis

by ZaliaChimera



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Clothing, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genderfluid, Genderfluid Character, Genderqueer, Genderqueer Character, Happy, Multi, Self-Discovery, Threesome, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 01:57:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1964601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaliaChimera/pseuds/ZaliaChimera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's only after the end of the world that Sam really gets to be who Sam wants to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chrysalis

"It’s no good, I look stupid," Sam said, glancing down at themself and smoothing the skirt of the canary yellow sundress that they were trying on. 

"You look fine, Sam," Paula said warmly. She gave Sam a critical look over and reached out to straighten one of the straps over Sam’s shoulder. "Straighten up a little. It’ll look better when you aren't slouching."

Sam snorted but did as they were told, drawing up their shoulders and standing up straighter. For a moment it looked pretty good, but then the flat chest and gangly figure caught up and Sam’s shoulders slumped again. “I don’t. I look like a boy in a dress. That’s all anyone’s gonna see. Sam Yao: Crossdressing boy.”

Sam had never been able to pull off androgyny, and it was fine when Sam wanted to wear hoodies and jeans which was most of the time, but sometimes, especially now things weren't so awful, it would be nice to wear something pretty occasionally. Something cute and feminine.

Obviously it wasn't going to happen. Sam didn't look any better in a dress than they had the once or twice they’d tried pre-apocalypse. 

Paula squeezed Sam’s shoulder, looking down at Sam with concern. “Sam, I’m not- I can’t claim to be an expert, but maybe it would be better if you stopped thinking of it as women’s clothing. It’s just clothing. Jeans aren't men’s clothing after all.”

Sam gave her a sceptical look, but nodded. “Well, no. They’re just jeans.”

"And this is just a dress."

She said it firmly, with such conviction that it was difficult to ignore her. Sam looked down at the sundress again, fingering the hem of it that fell just below their knees. “No-one’s gonna see, right?”

Paula nodded. “Just me and Maxine. Not if you don’t want to.”

"I’m not ashamed!" Sam said quickly, giving Paula an earnest look. "I’m not! I’m just…" Sam chewed on their lip. "Never got the chance before the apocalypse. My dad would’ve gone ballistic. And since then I've just worn what’s been given to me. The undead kind of put voyages of self-discovery on hold, y’know?"

"I can imagine," Paula replied, and she smiled so sweetly. It made Sam flush a little, to have her attention so focused on them. "But there’s nothing wrong with taking your time if that’s what you want. It’s a new world, but it’s not that easy to shake the old."

"Yeah," Sam said. They glanced over at the mirror again. The colour was nice, and Paula had done a really good job with the makeup; a little bit of eyeliner and lipgloss. "Yeah. Not like I’m going out of the house today. I can try it."

It sounded more confident than Sam felt, but wasn't that how it had worked for the past couple of years? Pretend you’re brave, pretend you’re not terrified every single day, and maybe it becomes real.

"Can I wear my boots?" Sam asked.

Paula grinned and picked up the pair of heavy work boots, passing them over. “You can wear whatever you want.”

The boots made things better, made Sam feel less like a boy pretending to be a girl, and more like… like Sam, whatever Sam felt like being that day. And they made a much more satisfying noise on the stairs than the matching shoes Paula had offered (and probably with less chance of breaking their neck than heels). 

Maxine waChrys sat at the kitchen table, a million papers and documents spread out around her. But she looked up when Sam entered, looked Sam up and down. 

"What do you think?" Sam asked. "I look stupid, don’t I? This was a dumb idea, I should give up and go get chang-"

"You look great, Sam," she said, and her smile warmed him to the core. "You look like you."

And even if it was just them, and just in the house, Sam managed to stand a little taller.


End file.
